Posts

This is the chalice which I was given to use for Mass a week ago in Helsinki. I emailed Marko Tervaportti for some further information about it and he has kindly replied with the information that it was made in Paris, probably around 1870 and is thought to be a gift from the Countess Leopoldina Cicogna (from Milan) who brought it from France together with many other objects, including another precious chalice with standing figures of the four Apostles, and the Way of the Cross which still hangs from the walls of the Cathedral.

The Emperor, Czar Alexander II, gave permission for the building of St Henry's Cathedral at the request of Leopoldina's husband, Count Berg.

Here is a close-up of the base of the chalice in which you can see the painted glass medallion of Saint Joseph and Our Blessed Lady. The third, hidden from view, is a medallion of the crucifixion. Following the advice of J B O'Connell, I used this to orient the chalice whilst saying Mass so that I knew to drink th…

It is not often that I would refer to the Sun newspaper here but there is a good article today by Oliver Harvey on "The Nightmare World of North Korea". The opening of the article could be used as a model for a journalism class:IN a cold sweat, I was led away by the jackbooted and armed North Korean border guards to a bleak side room.

My crime was that I’d disobeyed strict orders and taken pictures of the Stalinist dictatorship’s long-suffering people and the ruthless military who keep them suppressed.If you were being picky, you might say that there is not much real drama - a brief trip for journalists, a 15 minute scary interview and a 100 dollar fine; but I would disagree and take my hat off to the guy. He took a significant risk by trying to get some good photos and he wasn't to know what the consequences were. His article also gives a good description of the paranoia and numbness induced by Kim Jon-il's ghastly regime. The online version has a video clip with som…

Germain Grisez has written an article for Catholic World Report titled The Church Betrayed? with the straplineWhy does Catholic Relief Services forbid putting its logo on the “educational” materials it provides about HIV and condoms? It is time for the US bishops to investigate their charitable agency.The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the US Bishops' aid agency and Grisez analyses their approach to giving information about condoms.

Grisez quotes the official (and insufficient) reassurance that "CRS does not finance, promote or distribute condoms."

I have only just noticed that Sr Roseann Reddy, of the Sisters of the Gospel of Life, was at the St Andrews University Canmore Catholic Society earlier in the month, speaking to the title "Pro Woman, Pro Life." You can download a (31Mb) podcast of the talk at the Canmore podcasts page.

Have a scroll through Bashing Secularism for reflections that Richard Marsden has been posting on the 40 English and Welsh Martyrs canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970. He is humbly contrite about not posting all of them during Lent but I think we can all forgive him for that - they form an excellent series and he has promised continuing posts during Eastertide.

The English and Welsh martyrs are far too little known among Catholics in their own countries. If you don't know much about the martyrs, reading the reflections on Bashing Secularism is a good way to catch up.

I am very happy to publicise the following forthcoming meetings of the Linacre Ethics Forum.Linacre Ethics Forum

A chance for junior healthcare professionals and students (medics, nurses, pharmacists etc. are welcome!) to explore and discuss Catholic healthcare ethics. Each month a senior practitioner or other expert will be invited to give a 30 minute presentation, followed by discussion. The aim will be to understand the Church’s teaching, and explore ways in which we can present it sympathetically to patients, colleagues and managers.

Wikimissa is a directory of traditional Masses worldwide. I was amazed to see that our Saturday Mass at Blackfen was accurately listed. Rorate Caeli asks for help to keep the list current and accurate. To correct or update an entry is very simple: just double-click on the page and make the amendments.

St Peter's Cathedral in Lancaster, the home of Bishop Pat O'Donoghue of "Fit for Mission - Schools" fame, has a regular Traditional Latin Mass on the fourth Sunday of each Month at 12.15pm. The Mass is sung in Gregorian Chant by a mixed voice Schola. My correspondent tells me that anyone who would like to join the Schola, either regularly or on an occasional basis, will be most welcome.

From Catholic Family News:Dr A. Majid Katme(IMA) emails : 'British Muslims fully support the Catholic Leaders, Ministers and MPs in their opposition to the (Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill), the worst Bill in the history of Britain, they will continue with their letter campaign to the MPs in order to oppose this inhumane, destructive and immoral bill . . . Signed by:

Gregor Kollmorgen at the New Liturgical Movement has done us a great service by translating the whole of the recent interview given to L'Osservatore Romano by Cardinal Hoyos. (See NLM: Interview with Cardinal Castrillón on the Motu Proprio - updated). I would like to highlight two particular extracts:We need to be clear: this is not a return to the past but a step forward, because this way you have two treasures, rather than only one.This is a sensible answer to the clichéd characterisation of the use of the Classical Rite as "going back". His Eminence also picks upon one of the most important features of the "Gregorian Rite" as he says we may call it:We must comprehend some differences: the larger room for silence for the faithful, that fosters contemplation of the mystery and personal prayer. Finding again spaces of silence is today for our culture not only a religious necessity.I have found that it is important to explain to people unfamiliar with the usus a…

In his sermon at the Easter Vigil, the Holy Father spoke about the presence of the Risen Christ in the Liturgy of the Church and, significantly, used the phrase Conversi ad Dominum in order to explain the effect of our participation in the Liturgy should have in our lives. The essential link between Liturgy and Life has often been used in recent years to justify aberrant, human-centred liturgical innovation. The Holy Father links the liturgical turning towards the East with the conversion of our whole lives, raising them on high in truth and love. Fr Z has a commentary on the sermon; here is the last paragraph:In the early Church there was a custom whereby the Bishop or the priest, after the homily, would cry out to the faithful: “Conversi ad Dominum” – turn now towards the Lord. This meant in the first place that they would turn towards the East, towards the rising sun, the sign of Christ returning, whom we go to meet when we celebrate the Eucharist. Where this was not possible, for …

Latin is particularly helpful in Wales where many people have Welsh as their first language and all signs have to be bilingual. The use of the universal language of the Church overcomes the sensitive question of the vernacular.

Fr Jason also tells of the now regular Sunday TLM at Lourdes which he came across on a recent pilgrimage. He also saw a confessional that advertised both rites for the sacrament.

Thanks to Jackie Parkes (Catholic Mom of 10), I found the news of two well-deserved honours in the Birmingham diocese. Fr Paul Watson and Fr Mark Crisp have been made Monsignori. Fr Watson is the Director of the excellent Maryvale Institute and Fr Crisp is the Rector of Oscott College. Warmest congratulations to them both.

There is one snippet from Jane's notes on the talk by Greg Gardner at the Birmingham Oratory on sex education that should be highlighted. Dr Gardner had a chilling quotation from Dr Brock Chisolm, the first director of the World Health Organisation. In 1946, he wrote in “Psychiatry of enduring Peace and Social Progress”:“The concept of right and wrong is a barrier to developing a civilised way of life. This concept of right and wrong should be eradicated. Children have to be freed from … prejudices forced upon them by religious authorities … parents are dictators and suppressors of the child’s best nature. Sex education should be introduced … eliminating the ways of the elders, by force if necessary.”Jackie Parkes also has "Jane's notes" on the recent talk by Frs Guy Nichols and Philip Cleevely (Sex education and moral development).

When boarding the plane to Helsinki, it was good to see front page coverage in the papers of various sermons made by Bishops concerning the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.

In an excellent sermon at the Easter Vigil, Bishop O'Donoghue made the straightforward plea:Please stop the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. Stop exploiting embryonic human beings, and support adult stem cell research instead.Cardinal O'Brien was equally forthright in his Easter Sunday sermon:This bill represents a monstrous attack on human rights, human dignity and human life.In a sort of "J-turn", Prime Minister Gordon Brown has now allowed a free vote on three "ethical aspects" of the HFE bill. However, they will still be required by the party whip to vote in favour of the Bill as a whole - which rather negates the right to vote according to conscience. essentially, he has admitted the injustice of his former position but not effective corrected it. The Telegraph has th…

Helsinki is covered in snow this morning and everybody says that winter has come late. Finnish public transport is renowned for being scrupulously on time and apparently snow causes some upset because the buses might be a minute or two late. I did have a bit of a problem getting a taxi over to the Church this morning (I had to take my suitcase) but apparently there are relatively few taxis in Helsinki because public transport is so reliable and inexpensive.

Low Mass this morning was in the Blessed Sacrament chapel of St Henry's Cathedral. Marko Tervaportti took photos during the Mass and has already posted the above photo and another at the Summorum blog.

After Mass, we had some excellent Finnish coffee in the Catholic Information Centre which is the hub for the administration of the Catholic Church in Finland. They have the Catechism of the Catholic Church on sale in Finnish along with Finnish translations of papal encyclicals and various other useful books.

There are some pictures from yesterday's Missa Cantata at the Summorum blog on the post Fin-igan Day Two.

I have been staying at the Studium Catholicum which is run by the Dominicans, Fr Antoine from Paris and Fr Bill from Edmonton, Alberta, for whose hospitality and kindness I am very grateful.

Currently, the facilities are being worked on but there is already an excellent library in place which will be available for use by any students who are interested. We are just round the corner from the main square so it is an excellent location, too.

This evening's Mass at the Cathedral of St Henry in Helsinki was sung with a very competent small schola executing the chant flawlessly. I was very grateful for the opportunity to celebrate with a choir singing the Missa Lux et Origo. There will doubtless be some pictures at the blog Summorum fairly soon. (The title of course recalls the Motu Proprio but has another slight reference in that the Finnish name for Finland is Suomi.) In the meantime, courtesy of Summorum, here is a picture from yesterday's Low Mass.

The windows behind the altar were donated by an Irish lady, Mary Ryan 1n 1907, in memory of Fr von Christieeson. Either side of the Crucifixion, there stand St Patrick and St Bridget.

After Mass, Marko Tervaportti and his wife Pilvi treated a small group of us to dinner at their house. They say a decade of the Rosary with their two little girls before bedtime and it was a great privilege to be able to join in with this and to give a blessing afterwards. The Finns' se…

As you can see from the ice floating in the harbour, Helsinki is quite cold in comparison to England; although apparently there has been a mild winter and the recent snow was the first that has fallen this year. I was glad to have remembered to bring some warm clothing. My very English shoes look silly here where it seems that everybody has walking boots on.

This morning I had an opportunity to visit the Ataneum, the National Gallery of Finland which currently has an exhibition of the work of Pekka Halonen (1865-1933).

After the Treaty of Tilsit between Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I, Russia attacked Finland in 1808. The following year, Sweden conceded Finland to Russia as an autonomous Grand Duchy. In 1812, the Tsar moved the capital to Helsinki and initially, Russian rule was of some benefit to Finland. Some of the architecture in the centre of the City bears more than a passing resemblance to St Petersburg. This is a p…

I was off early on Monday morning to Heathrow airport for a flight with Finnair to Helsinki where I am visiting the Schola Sancti Gregorii Magni.

The Wikipedia article on the Roman Catholicism in Finland estimates the number of Catholics in Finland as about 7000 although local sources here indicate that it is probably nearer 10,000. Nevertheless, Finland is still the European country with the smallest proportion of Catholics. The majority of the population, about 84%, declare themselves to be Lutherans but the rate of practice is very low. Reading the page Churches and religions in Finland, I was astonished to find that it was only with the 1923 Freedom of Religion law that a Finn was officially allowed to be Catholic.

The whole of Finland is one diocese, centred on the Cathedral of St Henry in Helsinki. In recent years, the Society of the Sacred Heart from Poland have had a strong presence in Finland and the Bishop is Bishop Józef Wróbel SCJ. Here you can read his excellent sermon for …

... has been going very well, Deo Gratias. On the evening of Maundy Thursday, I washed the feet of twelve good men and true, and celebrated Mass ad orientem with the choir singing some beautiful pieces in both Latin and English. For the procession to the altar of repose (beautifully decorated by the sacristy team), we had two thurifers walking backwards, incensing the Blessed Sacrament. My alert deacon prevented one of them from hitting a pillar on the way round. Some young people asked me whether we could have watching before the Blessed Sacrament late at night on another occasion in the year. (Erm, let me think. Yes!)

Children's Stations of the Cross were well attended this morning and I hope that lots of indulgences were gained there - I explained about indulgences in a short homily at the end. Traditional Stations also well attended and lots of confessions afterwards - as there were during the watching last night. I was delighted that the queues were probably at least half comp…

Today in my parish, we had the Good Friday Liturgy in the ordinary form using red vestments as prescribed. I have two deacons and therefore we used our red High Mass vestments: a magnificent 19th century French set which are ideal for Pentecost or for Confirmations - or indeed for a solemn celebration of the feast of a martyr. They are not really suited to Good Friday.

I see that the Holy Father had the same dilemma today. Mgr Marini has dug out a wonderful set of red Roman vestments and it is great to see Roman vestments being used more and more for papal liturgies - but surely these ones would be better suited for a more joyful occasion?

I agree with Shawn's suggestion that black should, at the very least, be restored as an option for Good Friday.

The other day, Mark Pritchard MP received a written answer from Dawn Primarolo to his question:To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in England had more than (a) four, (b) five, (c) six and (d) seven abortions by the end of 2006.Here is the answer from Public Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo. There is a follow-up article in the Telegraph and a piece on the BBC website. The article in the Daily Mail gives most in the way of analysis of the figures: 1,300 women have had at least FIVE abortions.

In response to these appalling figures, the Department for Health obsessively sticks to the party line of "more and better contraception." They say:"Women who have undergone abortion are at risk of future unintended pregnancies, and represent an important group with unmet contraceptive needs.

Future contraception should be discussed, and supplies offered, before a woman is discharged following abortion."As if women are not already offered contraceptive advice wh…

Southwark Diocese still has the Chrism Mass on the proper day so it was a chance to catch up with some priest friends today before the Mass. The priests were all given a prayer card with Our Lady of Trust and a quotation from Pope Benedict's address at the Major Roman Seminary. (see the post "Look at your Mother and do not be afraid")

To be honest, I do not really enjoy the Mass itself and regard it as something of a penance at the end of Lent. As with many large concelebrations, I could not actually see the altar, let alone the bread and wine I was supposed to be consecrating. There was a CCTV monitor but if that counts, I might as well concelebrate with the Pope via EWTN. I wonder whether the current time of liturgical rethinking might be a good opportunity to explore the possibility of attending in choro. I think that many clergy (not necessarily only "traditionalists") might be in favour of having the option to do so. You might argue that we do have the opti…

Fr Sean Finnegan (Valle Adurni) reports on a visit from the Heralds of the Gospel who gave an afternoon of recollection in his parish with a pro-life theme. The post includes and interesting snippet of talk from the Roman scene:They told me that the rector of their church in Trastervere, Rome, one Mgr Angelo di Pasquale, a man who served under all the Popes since Pius XII at various liturgical functions, is much in demand at the Vatican for his memories of how papal ceremonies ought to be performed. We have all suspected that there was a clear agenda of restoration afoot; apparently there is a group of clerics who are officially but quietly planning and carefully steering it; there is a lot more to come! Others known to be involved closely in this group are Mgr Paccanelli, the Ceremoniere of St Mary Major, a Fr Sciacca, a senior official in the Roman Angelicum University and, of course, Mgr Georg Gänswein, the Holy Father's secretary.It is very important to garner information and …

This year, the meditations for the Via Crucis at the Colosseum have been written by Cardinal Zen, the Bishop of Hong Kong. The Stations offer reflections on different moments in the passion of Our Lord but they do not correspond to the standard set that we usually have in Churches.

The meditations are illustrated by Chinese style pictures from the Archive of the General House of the Society of the Divine Word. The texts on the Vatican website are in Italian: I am sure these will all be translated in due course but here is one example.Sixth StationJesus is scourged and crowned with thorns

From the Gospel according to Mark 15, 15b.17-19

Pilate, having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 19 And they struck his head with a reed, and spat upon him, and they knelt down in homage to him.

The one dissenting voice among the members of the Committee was Douglas Carswell, a member of the Cornerstone Group. He rather hit the nail on the head with one question he managed to get in to Bishop O'Donoghue:Q266 Mr. Carswell: You have been subjected to some pretty full-on questioning, some of which has had a secular tone. Would you be subjected to questioning about the values that you impart to your pupils if you ran a Muslim school?

"The Human Person" series comprises three books, one on the Theology of the Body, one on Manhood and a new book, just published, on "The Genius of Womanhood". It is written by Karen Doyle, the Australian Catholic author and co-founder of Choicez Media. Here's a video where Karen introduces the book:

John Smeaton has drawn attention to a worrying development in the "Council of Europe" with a new report calling on all European countries to remove all restrictions on abortion. He urges us all to write to our European Assembly member. See Help stop Europe-wide abortion campaign.

Niamh has started a blog to give information about the Human and Fertilisation and Embryology bill. (STAND UP- Human Fertilisation and Embryology bill) She says:It has arisen from a campaign that I did with Fr Julian Green in the South Birmingham deanery for which I spent many hours digesting all the facts on the bill and regurgitating them so that the average person would be able to understand.Lots of good info already there including advice on how to write to your MP.

My good friend Fr Gerard Byrne says a Latin (novus ordo) Mass every Sunday at 4pm in the beautiful late Victorian gothic Church of St Patrick's, Anderston in Glasgow. The Mass is a model of good practice for the ordinary form of the Roman rite - celebrated ad orientem, with the parts of the Mass all properly sung in Latin.

A small schola sings the parts of the Mass. Once a month, they sing the full chants from the Graduale Romanum and on the other Sundays, they use the Graduale Simplex. New members for the schola would be warmly welcomed. This would be a good opportunity if you would like to learn to sing Gregorian chant. The practice each week is on Wednesday evening from 7.30-9.30pm. Contact email is: schola_glasguensis@hotmail.co.uk.

The Daily Mail reports today on a statement from the Royal College of Psychiatrists which points out that the risk of mental health problems from pregnancy should be balanced by a consideration of the risk of mental health problems following abortion. They also give an important reminder that the principle of "informed consent" is undermined if women's mental health is not good and there is no adequate care. (See: Woman 'should have abortions blocked' until mental illness risks are known)

This important statement undermined the most common ground for abortion in England which relies on danger to the mental health of the mother if the pregnancy is continued. As we have known for some time, the mental health of the mother can be adversely affected by abortion, especially if this is a decision taken under pressure from medical health professionals.

Relevant to this is a letter to the Times of 27 October 2006 from psychiatrists also drawing attention to research that i…

Catholic blogs round the world have been rejoicing at yet another notching up of gravitas in the papal liturgy for Palm Sunday today. So I took a little trip over to the Papa Ratzinger forum to get a good photo. They never let you down on things like this...

The Cardinal Deacons in dalmatics are obviously now a permanently restored feature of the Papal Liturgy. I wonder if that rather fine cross is here to stay?

Family Publications recently sent me "The Wisdom of Nazareth. Stories of Catholic Family Life" selected and edited by Sr Crucis Beards FMDM and Anna Schafer, with a foreword by Lord Alton and an introduction by Michael O'Brien. The book is published by Family Publications jointly with the Centre for Marriage and Family at the Maryvale Institute. (205pp soft cover, sewn.)

This is an inspiring and heart-warming collection of down to earth stories from mothers and fathers. They tell of everyday family life and faith, of surprises, unexpected opportunities, and particular moments of grace. Families life has been undermined in various ways in our society today; this can put a lot of pressure on parents trying their best to live out the vocation of marriage in their love for each other and for their children. This positive and uplifting book will be welcomed by mothers and fathers as an antidote to the sneering and negative message so often given in the media. The Maryvale inst…

For the past five years, Mulier Fortis has organised a group of women and girls to hand out holy cards to the priests processing into St George's Cathedral on Maundy Thursday for the Chrism Mass, to thank the priests for their work and assure them of the prayers of women from the diocese. There used to be a group of feminists protesting outside in favour of the ordination of women and I know that many of my colleagues were very pleased to see such a "counter demo" from women - although as Mac points out, it is not really a demo, just an expression of support for priests.

The prayer cards for this year include text from the Holy Father's address to the Roman Major Seminary in February this year and the picture is the one of Our Lady of Trust which the Holy Father referred to in his address.

They will be meeting outside the Cathedral at 10.45am. The Mass starts at 11.15am. Gathering afterwards in the Three Stags pub from about 1.15pm.

If you watch the video through, you can see how Barry Sheerman bowls gentle questions to those who think that "faith schools" discriminate against poorer pupils and then various bouncers at the Church representatives.

When grilled about not wanting to allow anti-Catholic books in Catholic school libraries, the Bishop quite reasonably pointed out that everyone would ban some books - for example books denying the holocaust. In the hands of the Independent, this becomesA Roman Catholic bishop has likened books which criticise the teachings of the Church to works that deny the Holocaust took place.of course he did no such thing: this is simply misdirection in response to an unanswerable argument.

I am very grateful to Peter Clarke for this Photo and for his summary of my sermon at Mass yesterday at St Mary’s Church, Ryde:In his sermon at Mass Father reminded the congregation that we commemorated the seven sorrows of Mary. It reminds us that, like ourselves, Mary had sorrows and tribulations in her life as well as joys and happiness. Father mentioned someone he knew with a severe illness, who knew that death was imminent. He sought to strengthen his faith by coming to daily Mass, and to prepare himself for death and to meet his Maker. Mary shares in many of the sorrows with which we can identify; bereavement, especially, like her, losing a son. Parents often find heartache when their children lapse and lose their faith.

We must remember that at Mass we offer ourselves in union with the Divine Victim. It is at Mass that we can associate ourselves with Our Lady who stood at the foot of the Cross and witness the agony of her Son. She offered her own life in union with her Son and i…

Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos will be coming to England to celebrate Pontifical High Mass in the Traditional Latin Rite at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday 14 June 2008 at 2pm.

Cardinal Hoyos is the President of the Ecclesia Dei Commission in Rome, charged with oversight of the Vatican’s relations with the religious communities and laity committed to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

The Cardinal will give and address at the AGM of the Latin Mass Society in the morning. For the Pontifical Mass, he will be welcomed at the west door of the Cathedral in cappa magna before processing to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to pray; he will then vest in the sanctuary whilst the Cathedral choir sings. Pontifical High Mass will then be celebrated at the High Altar with all the awesome ceremony and music integral to the Traditional Rite.

Julian Chadwick, Chairman of the LMS, said,“This is the highlight of the LMS’s 43 years of struggle on behalf of the Traditional Latin Rite. It will be the …

The photo shows a few of the young people from Blackfen who received the Sacrament of Confirmation administered by Bishop Patrick Lynch on Thursday evening. This is a always a delightful celebration with the young people being a real credit to their families and friends. Everything went smoothly and Bishop Pat spent a good time in the Hall meeting the various families despite having had a very busy day beforehand.

The grace of confirmation was often distinguished as a "gratia ad robur" (grace for strengthening) so please say a prayer that these young people will remain strong in their faith and Catholic life.

I took this photo on the beach at Bembridge this morning during a short walk after breakfast. Yesterday, I travelled to the Isle of Wight to say Mass at St Mary's, Ryde. Afterwards, thirteen of us went to a restaurant in Bembridge for a strictly fish meal and a good chinwag. The Latin Mass Society is thriving on the Island and the members are fully involved in their parish.

This morning, after breakfast and my beach walk, I crossed the Solent with a number of LMS members to go to St John's Cathedral, Portsmouth to give a Day of Recollection for the Portsmouth Latin Mass Society. It was a pleasant inconvenience for the organisers to have to put out more chairs in the Hall because the numbers were greater than expected. I spoke about the sacrifice of Christ, the sacrifice of the Mass and our participation in the Mass. (Sorry - I was speaking for various notes and do not have a text to post.)

The Cathedral is well kept and vastly improved from what I remember from my visit in the l…

The Committee Chairman, Barry "faith education works all right as long as people are not that serious about their faith" Sheerman took the opportunity in the course of questioning to refer contemptuously to Pope Benedict as the "present occupant of the Vatican"

This morning was an "oral Evidence Session" concerning Diversity of School Provision: Faith Schools. The stated purpose of the meeting of this committee which was established less than five months ago was to examine faith schools and their place within the school system. Suddenly there is talk all over the place about "faith schools" (ours are Church schools, actually) choosing pupils on the basis of social status or academic ability. This is nonsense: those of our schools that are ove…

On 1 May this year, London holds its elections for Mayor and for the London Assembly. George Hargreaves and the Christian Party have plans to make an impact. Alan Craig is standing on a joint ticket for the Christian Party and the Christian People's Alliance. I was delighted to hear that Canning Town South ward of Newham council is represented by three CPA councillors. Apparently some of the majority Labour members have taken to quoting the bible in their arguments: not something commonly associated with politics in Britain.

Over dinner, George outlined the Christian Party's strategy for the mayoral and assembly elections. The voting system for these is more complicated than usual for elections in Britain. The mayoral election has a "supplementary vote" system whereby the voter has two choices. If there is no clear majority on of first choices, the top two go through and the second choice votes for the others are then counted. The Christian Party will be focussing on …

Christopher Booker had an article in the Telegraph recently, reporting on a major conference which questioned the consensus on global warming. (Climate dissent grows hotter as chill deepens). He refers to an interesting blog by Anthony Watts: Watts up with that. Booker comments that last year, Watts forced Nasa's Goddard Institute to correct a fundamental error in its data on US surface temperatures, to show that the hottest decade of the 20th century was not the 1990s but the 1930s.

Watts is a meteorologist who promotes energy saving and alternative energy generation and puts this into practice with a solar array on his own home. It's just that he wants to look at the figures responsibly - and has the expertise to do so.

The picture is from the blizzard of the last week which reached as far south as Texas and Arkansas.

Just over a year ago, I posted an item (Disco hit generates pro-life funds) about Rev George Hargreaves who publicly repudiated his former way of life and ploughs the profits that continue to come in from the 1985 song "So Macho" into "Operation Christian Vote", a party that opposes abortion, human embryo research and euthanasia. He also initiated a high-profile case against "Jerry Springer - The Opera."

I will be meeting Rev Hargreaves this evening and it will be interesting to hear the latest ideas from this pro-life and pro-family campaigner.

Tomorrow evening, I will be at Ealing Abbey parish to speak on the subject of "Christ the Unique and Universal Saviour - as outlined in Dominus Iesus." This is the last in a series of Lenten talks and will take place at 8pm in the Abbey Hall. All are welcome.

I will examine how Dominus Iesus affirms that the salvific will of the Triune God is accomplished once and for all in the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I will explore what it means to call Christ our Saviour and Redeemer and why the Church has affirmed the uniqueness and universality of salvation in Christ. I will also consider what the Church's teaching implies for our dialogue with people of other faiths and none.

My review of After Asceticism for Faith Magazine was mentioned today and a couple of students were looking for it. It is in the print edition of Faith Magazine for Jan-Feb 2008 and can be found at the Faith website here.

Commenting on my recent post about the Statue of Galileo, Edmund posted a couple of links. Although the story is from last December, the spin is so breathtaking that it is worth posting even now.

First, the story from Catholic World News: Vatican astronomers to move to bigger, more modern facilities. Basically, the Vatican Observatory at Castel Gandolfo is a beautiful historic building but a bit cold in winter and the facilities for people staying are not up to scratch. At the same time, more room is needed at the Apostolic Palace for visiting dignitaries. So there is going to be a brand spanking new facility built in the gardens - and everyone is happy.The Vatican astronomers' new facilities will cover two stories with residences on one floor and, on the bottom floor, brand new offices, laboratories, a museum, a library, a large classroom for their summer school program and additional space for the summer students' use.So how could we spin this? How about "Science bows to…

Fr Stephen Fisher, canon lawyer and parish priest of the Church of Saints Ethelbert and Gertrude in Ramsgate, has started a blog called Semper eadem. Regarding Summorum Pontificum, he writes "We have certainly taken advantage of the new situation here in Ramsgate." Canadians will be interested in his photos of Vimy Ridge - which he can easily get to on a day off. Fr Fisher has used the wording from the "Disclaimer (of sorts)" in my sidebar, hoping that I don't mind. Not at all - given his legal expertise, I regard this it a compliment.

After speaking about St John Fisher on Thursday, I was delighted to see that Fr Richard Aladics has posted some photos from the bell tower after a pilgrimage to the Tower of London in honour of the English Martyrs. The above photo is of St John Fisher's cell. He also has photos of the cell occupied by St Thomas More and of the group visiting the crypt at Tyburn Convent. See Friends with Christ: A pilgrimage of grace.

I wasted some time reading the comments. At one point, Damien himself intervened with the observation "Ye gods! this thread is drivel." (He was quite right.) Somehow conspiracy theorists of the world have united to post irrefutable proof on his blog (particularly YouTube video links and lists of other links) absolutely definitely showing that the CIA or someone blew up the towers themselves on 9/11. This confluence of comments can surely be no coincidence. The gathering of these conspiratorial theorists all of a sudden is, to my mind, irrefutable and unanswerable evidence that there is a conspiracy of conspiracy theoris…

The old chestnut I am referring to is the unbelievably silly interpretation of the rubric of the new Missal (older version) which said that, by tradition, the Church does not "celebrate the sacraments" on Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Anyone with an ounce of sense and not infected with the daftest kind of positivism regarding liturgical law simply presumed that this did not intend to prohibit the longstanding custom of hearing confessions on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. If any support were needed, the press pictures of the Pope of Rome sitting in the confessional on Good Friday every year might just count for something?

CNA has reported that a statue of Galileo is to be erected in the Vatican gardens. It is good to see that the head of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences has commented that it is appropriate for such a statue to be erected in the Vatican because Galileo was one of the founders of the Lincean Academy. This body has had a rather chequered history but it is not unreasonable for the Pontifical Academy of Sciences to claim a link with it.

I rather like this idea: it fits in well with Pope Benedict's approach to the secularists. Of course, people will still bash on ignorantly about the Galileo affair but now they will have a new and inconvenient obstacle to the perpetuation of this portion of the black legend. Dramatic documentaries will have to include a new clip with the soundtrack probably something along the lines of "Surprisingly, in the Vatican Gardens, there is actually a statue of the man who was [tortured, persecuted ... fill in the blanks] by the Catholic Church." The …

Today was observed as Founder's Day at the John Fisher School in Purley where I was a pupil between 1969 and 1976. This year I was asked to be the guest speaker and to celebrate Mass. I spoke about the school hymn to St John Fisher, what it told us about our patron saint, his relevance for the needs of society today, and the inspiration of his wisdom, courage and pastoral care which makes him a good role model for young men. I even managed to include a rugby analogy, comparing St John Fisher to a small scrum-half, tackling the opposing prop forward even though all his team mates had hung back. (St John Fisher was the only bishop in England to refuse the oath of supremacy. All the others caved in to King henry VIII and took it.) At Mass, I spoke about the Chapel as a sacred place and about St John Fisher's defence of the Catholic doctrines of the real presence and the sacrifice of the Mass.

The school has a good tradition of altar serving, the boys being directed by a senior pup…

Popular posts from this blog

I am happy to pass on the following information concerning the forthcoming Colloquium of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend myself this time, but I pass on the notice with my support and recommendation.
Booking is now open for the Autumn Colloquium of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, which this year takes place at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, from Wednesday 15th till Thursday 16th November.

Speakers include Bishop John Keenan of Paisley, Monsignor John Armitage (Rector of the Shrine at Walsingham) and Father John Saward.

I am trying to pray the Office each day. Should I only use the official breviary or can I use the Little Office of Our Lady?
The second Vatican Council encouraged lay people to pray the Divine Office; indeed the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy encouraged parish priests to see that Vespers are celebrated in Churches on Sundays, something that is quite rare nowadays. So it is an excellent practice for you as a lay person to pray at least a part of the Office. By doing so, you unite yourself to the whole Church in the prayer which Christ offers up as our High Priest. It is rightly called a sacrifice of praise when we pray the psalms to sanctify the hours of the day.

Priests and religious are bound to celebrate the Divine Office every day and must use the Office that is approved for them. Secular priests, for example, must use either the Liturgy of the Hours (the Office that was composed after Vatican II) or the older breviary that was approved before the Council. Lay people who are no…

When I was a student in Rome, I remember going with a priest for Mass in one of the ancient Churches. The priest said that he was going to use Eucharistic Prayer II because it was the most ancient of all the prayers and was specifically Roman, composed by Hippolytus. This was the standard view at that time (early 1980s) but has since been called into question. A number of people have recently mentioned the matter to me and so here are a few notes for you.

In the 19th century, a number of ancient texts were discovered that were similar to the "Apostolic Constitutions", (of which the first modern edition was published in 1563). Among these texts was a document which came to be referred to as the “Egyptian Church Order”. In addition, the Canons of Hippolytus and the Testamentum Domini were discovered.

The scholarly consensus in the early 20th century on the dependence of these documents was that the “Egyptian Church Order” was in fact the "Apostolic Tradition" of Hippol…

Dilexit Prior in Letters from a Young Catholic asked some useful questions today about indulgences. I thought it would be best to do a post here especially to cover the controversial question of detachment from venial sin. But first the other questions:

The conditions for gaining a plenary indulgencePope Paul VI set down a number of norms relating to indulgences at the end of Indulgentiarum Doctrina. Norm 7 states:To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfil three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even to venial sin, be absent. If this disposition is in any way less than complete, or if the prescribed three conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence will be only partial, except for the provisions contained in n.11 for those who are “impeded.”It is worth reading the other norms because …

The first is the most fundamental. Kwasniewski rightly says that it should be engaged before examining any particular principle behind the new lectionary. It is the question of the purpose or function of reading the scriptures at Mass. As he puts it:
“Is it a moment of instruction for the people, or is it an element of the latreutic worship offered by Christ and His Mystical Body to the Most Holy Trinity.”
He affirms that what we may call the doxological purpose is primary.

This question determines any subsequent discussion of what passages are chosen, how they are distribut…